


all the time in space

by katebishoop



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Coda, Friendship, Gen, POV Hunk (Voltron), Season/Series 07 Spoilers, Team Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 10:36:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15628875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katebishoop/pseuds/katebishoop
Summary: There's not much to do but talk when you're stranded in space without your ship.--Based on one of the season 7 preview clips.





	all the time in space

**Author's Note:**

> I debated long and hard on this. Whether I wanted a more serious thing where they couldn't talk because it took up oxygen, or to ignore that and have some fun instead.
> 
> I went with the fun.

"Okay, let's run through our checklist," Keith said. "Does anyone have any supplies?"

Lance and Pidge both responded no.

"No food, no water." Hunk said. They were floating in the dark vastness of space, with just their suits and each other.

"Our suits will recycle enough moisture to keep us hydrated for a little while," Keith said. His eyes closed ever so slightly, and there was a strain in his voice that didn't sound like it was coming from all the blood rushing to his head from being upside down. "We just need to hang tight. We have each other."

Hunk glanced at the others, and they looked surprised. This is New Leader Keith. This is I'll Fly The Black Lion Willingly Keith. This was Older Keith.

Hunk thought back to the Weblum, and Keith's comforting words. And, huh, this wasn't really a New Keith after all.

"Don't worry, Hunk," Lance said, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Something will be along any minute to kill us. Any minute now..."

But nope. Nothing scarier than the vast emptiness of space. Some team bonding exercise this was.

"Keith, you must be uncomfortable?" Allura said. "Do you want to-?"

"Good idea," Keith said. There was that strain again.

Keith let go of Hunk's foot and carefully righted himself before grabbing onto Hunk's hand. Pidge took the opportunity too to get comfortable. They all knew they'd be here for a while.

A long while. Stranded in the middle of space with nothing in sight and they can't connect with the bond in their lions because the lions were offline and oh no what if the lions themselves got separated and what about Coran and Romelle and the space mice and Keith's mom and-

"Hunk. _Hunk._ " Keith squeezed his hand, and Hunk felt it, but his mind was still racing a mile a minute.

"Look at me okay? Keep your eyes on me." Keith said. "Breathe with me okay - In...out. In... out. You're doing good, Hunk... in...out."

Hunk felt Lance squeeze his other hand. And slowly, he steadied his breathing, and his heart stopped exploding, and he found some sembelance of balance despite their current floating status.

"We're going to be alright." Keith said, and his confidence almost made Hunk believe him. "The others will find us."

"They're stuck in the Lions - different lions - with no power. They wouldn't even be able to fly them if they had power." Allura said. "How could they come to us? How are you so calm?"

It was hard to tell if he Keith shrugged but Hunk imagines he did. "I trust them." Keith said like it was the simpliest thing in the world, even though it used to be the hardest. "I trust them. I have to."

There was that strain in his voice again, and this time Hunk wasn't the only one to pick up on it.

"Did you hit something in all the chaos?" Pidge asked. "You keep trying to touch your side."

"Just a bruise." Keith said. "Nothing to worry about."

Lance snorted. "You may be all 'older and wiser' now but you're still a terrible liar."

Keith remained silent.

"Keith," Allura said. "I can feel your energy waning. It's been like this since..."

"It'll be fine." Keith tried to say it sternly, but the flinch it caused gave him away. "Bandage just came loose."

"Oh, _Keith_." Hunk squeezed his hand probably a lot more than he should have. "Broken ribs are not nothing!"

"I patched myself up. I didn't need anyone worrying about me when there are more important things."

"You also have that scar on your face." Pidge said. "What exactly happened on the other side of that wormhole. Shiro-"

"That doesn't matter now." Keith said, in a tone that let them know that he was done with that topic. "Shiro is back, and safe, and that's all that matters now."

"Yeah, well." Lance said in an effort to break the awkward silence. "I'm ratting you out to your mother when we get back!"

Keith snorted - another flinch. "She helped."

"You know, this would be a good time for you to tell us about her." Pidge said. "We still don't know what you've been up to for the past... how many years was it?"

"Two years, we think." Keith said. "It's really not that interesting. I mean - my Marmora suit should still have the logs we took of all the species we found on it's back. You may be interested in that, Pidge."

"Booooring." Lance said. "How'd you get a space dog?"

"Cosmo?"

"Cosmo?" Allura said. "That's an odd name."

"You named your space dog Cosmo-" Pidge stopped herself, then her face breaking out into a huge grin. "You named your space dog _Cosmo_ , you giant nerd."

"Come on Keith, you've got to have tons of stories," Lance said. "Just imagine us around a campfire."

"Ooo ooo with smores," Hunk added.

"I... I don't know, guys." Keith looked pretty far away. "Sometimes it drove me crazy because we had no idea how time was passing outside the abyss. We had no idea how the war was going or who was alive." Keith said. "But other times... It was like the world on pause. I got... it sounds silly, but it's like I got to have the childhood I missed out on?" Keith went quieter. "Time works... differently in the quantum abyss, to say the least. It was like... It was like I had my mother with me my whole life."

There was something somber in the air the way Keith said that. Wistful, and nostalgic, and sad. Two years could feel like a lifetime, and well, it sounded like it was.

"Why do I have to do all the talking?" Keith said, changing the subject. "What kind of crazy things did you get into while I was gone?"

Lance and Pidge immediately went off - ice skating, Coran's parasite, their sentry friend, Oriande. Explaining Monsters & Mana was a whole endeavor.

"So, basically it's just Dungeons & Dragons?" Keith asked and Pidge lost it.

"You are a total nerd!" Pidge yelled. "How have you been hiding this whole time!?"

Their little circle of arms filled with noise as Lance, Pidge, and Allura all talk at once. Hunk spared a glance at Keith. His eyes were drooping, but he was still looking on out past them to see if anything was coming their way.

Hunk squeezed Keith's hand. Keith looked over and gave him a small smile of reassurance. Keith was fine, they'd be fine.

And Hunk believed him.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! So excited for tomorrow!!


End file.
